"I AM NOT HATING YOU"
Eh...
"I-I... love you, big brother..." Only a few inches between their faces, the two of them. Risa moves closer with drowsy eyes, rosy cheeks and lips. "I... really don't hate you."
Eh! EH! HEEEE! Wait, wait, didn't your personality change way too fast!!!
"Chuu~"
A gentle kiss from a girl, planted on a boy who happens to be her own older brother.
Somehow things could change that fast for Kai, a 16-year-old boy, a teenager in his popular phase... received a kiss from his beloved little sister.
Yeah... at least it was a kiss on the cheek.
°•(・_・;) ♡ (｡⁄ ⁄>⁄ ▽ ⁄<⁄ ⁄｡)•°•
25 minutes earlier
Not long after Kai entered his room after saying a few words to his sister, Risa. He heard Risa's voice and the doorknob turning.
"Big brother... I want to talk."
Risa then entered her brother's room, looking at the room she used to enter often as a child when she was still close to Kai.
Risa walked in, her head turning left and right, as if mapping her brother's room in her memory.
The room was still the same, typical of a boy's room, but not messy. Kai was a disciplined and always tidy person.
Books stacked neatly on the bookshelf and study desk. A bed always neatly made. Honestly, this room was tidier than Risa's room, even though she was a girl.
Risa's eyes landed on one object on the nightstand, a small picture frame. Risa walked over, picked up the frame and examined it, her eyes softening when she saw the photo.
A childhood photo of her and her brother. It was taken when they were at the Night Fair in the city. The photo of her smiling and posing cutely with her brother truly brought back past memories, which she had tried to forget for two years.
"Risa?"
Hearing her brother call, Risa put the photo frame back, then turned and sat on the bed. She patted the spot beside where she sat. Without a word, Kai of course understood what she meant.
Kai sat next to his sister, feeling puzzled. What did his sister want to talk about? Was she going to be mad because he had been too weird... he mean act so try hard to become clingy, acting like he knew "her"?
Or... did she realize that he wasn't the real "Kai", that he was a stranger who had entered her brother's body?
Kai tried to keep a calm face, even though his heart was pounding because of Risa's expression, her movements, and the tone of her voice is like she wanted to have a serious conversation.
Risa turned to her brother, eyes meeting eyes with enough intensity to make it clear she wanted to talk personally and intimately.
"I... I want to ask you, Kai... I mean, Big Brother..." Risa paused and swallowed before continuing her sentence. "What do you think of me..."
Kai looked at Risa, confused. He didn't expect to gain Risa's affection this easily.
Yeah... basically all problems can be solved by being honest with each other.
Kai thought before arranging in his mind what words he should say to his sister.
"In my mind, you're my beloved little sister." Kai smiled and raised his hand to hover above Risa's head.
Risa looked at her brother's hand hanging above her head, then closed her eyes to signal that it was allowed.
Warm.
For two years, since the two of them—no, not the two of them, more precisely since Risa started distancing herself from her brother. Risa herself was the one who widened that distance. But she was also the one who missed this kind of warmth.
"I... I'm sorry." No tears fell. Risa wasn't crying. She hugged Kai, her arms wrapping around his neck, burying her face deep into Kai's shoulder. "I want to go back to how we used to be..."
Kai didn't smile or put on a sad face. That expression wasn't needed to describe what was happening.
Kai hugged Risa, one arm circling her body to hold his little sister tighter, and the other arm also hugging her while continuously stroking Risa's head.
"There's nothing to talk about," Kai said, slowly resting his chin on Risa's shoulder as well, before whispering in Risa's ear.
"I love you, Risa."
The same words he had said that afternoon when they walked home together came back. Risa had often heard this from Kai since their childhood and even when she start ignoring him. But this time... those words made everything she had been doing to avoid her brother crumble.
Kai just stayed quiet, listening to his sister's sobbing sounds, letting that flood of emotion soak his shoulder.
Even if he was a stranger, even if the Kai here wasn't the real "Kai". None of that mattered.
Ryan... Kai... none of that matters. In this new life, I am still an older brother.
In the game, Risa's route would end with "Kai" dying because of his own actions when he attempted to murder "Ren."
But there was always a scene that made Risa's route, become the best route and have a perfect score in the community, besides Daisy's route. It's all because, "Kai" would definitely, always die even in the good ending, harem ending, or bad ending. And in all of that... Risa always ended up filled with regret over her brother, Kai's death.
So Risa's affection for "Ren" was actually just an escape... she never truly liked Ren.
What she wanted was "Family Affection."
That was the meaning of love for Risa's character. And the one who could give that was the "Kai" from before, before his head gone to loose became twisted and obsessive over Risa.
Kai continued gently stroking Risa's hair, his shoulder getting wetter but Kai just stayed silent, letting his sister release all that emotion.
Now I understand... why Mimi really likes Risa's character. Kai thought, remembering his life before he ended up here. Now she's my sister... Risa, she's not just a game character.
"Hey... your snot is make floods," Kai said with a small laugh. "Geez, you're too emotional, you know."
"Nnh..."
Risa hugged Kai even tighter, really clinging to her brother like a koala. She absolutely didn't want to let go, as if afraid she'd lose him.
"Hahaha... you really are like my little sister." Kai laughed freely, and hugged Risa more tightly. "Hmm... you know isn't this a little childish~ I thought you had an image to maintain~"
Risa pulled back slightly, looking at her brother, who was smiling. That made her smile too, and giggle.
"Huff, shut up, idiot big brother," She then snuggled back onto his chest. "And what did you say earlier... of course I'm your little sister, do you have another sister?"
Kai smiled and continued stroking Risa's head, of course I have another little sister...
"Hmm... maybe."
"Heh~ what kind of answer is 'maybe', I'm your only little sister."
Risa then broke out from the hug and pushed Kai onto the bed. She was on top of him, looking down at him, like she was pinning him down.
"Even though for two years I said I always hated you..." She got closer, a light flickering in her eyes that started to go half-lidded, staring deep into her brother's eyes. "I am never meant it... you know it right..."
Risa moved even closer, and "chuu~", she gave a nice peck on her big brother's cheek. The peck lasted quite a while before she pulled back with a big smile.
"Hihihi, you're really blushing, big brother~"
Kai blushed, and pushed Risa's body off from on top of him, so the position wasn't as awkward as before.
"Ahem... don't do that again. It's not good for siblings to do that."
Risa put on a pouty face and huffed, before she moved to her brother's side, resting her head to lean on his shoulder. She took her brother's hand, intertwining it tightly.
"Hehehe... sorry, but I'm happy... we can make up again." She gave their intertwined hand a warm squeeze. "Do you want to be kissed somewhere else..."
Kai squeezed his sister's hand back. "What do you mean, stupid..." He laughed softly. "Don't suddenly kiss like that again."
"Hmm... yeah, but I'm not promising not to do it again."
"It's late... you know if you plan to say you want to sleep together, I'll say no."
"Haa... big brother doesn't want to sleep with me?" Risa tilted her head looking up at her brother. "Is it okay..."
Stay calm, Ryan... you're 21 years old in a 16-year-old's body, and she's your own little sister just like Mimi.
Kai shook his head, and flicked Risa's forehead, making her yelp cutely and pouting, whining like a cute brat.
"No means no..." Kai smirked at his sister. "Besides, you're already grown up now."
"Huff... Big brother really doesn't understand a girl's feelings."
Risa rose from the bed and walked to the door. Before she left, she turned back to look at her brother.
"Good night... and..." She fidgeted a little, before waving at Kai, "Hey, can you come here for a sec."
Kai, a bit confused about what his sister wanted, got up from his spot and approached.
Without warning, Risa stood on her tiptoes and looped her arms to kiss her brother's cheek again. Giggling, she pulled back and opened the door.
"Hehehe, good night, big brother~"
The door closed, leaving Kai a little dumbfounded about what happened. But he just put on a smiling face afterwards before he turned off the lights and lay back down on his bed.
I... really did it.
Kai looked up at the ceiling. Thinking about what he had just done.
Fixing his relationship with Risa was a big step. However, there was still one thing nagging at him: would this affect the future?
"Ren" hasn't appeared yet... I'm curious what he's like in this world...
In the game, the player controlled the main character. But if this was the 'real world'... most likely Ren would become like a person without flaws... besides, this world revolved around him.
"If "Ren" really appears and the game's storyline begins... then will I still become the villain character?"
Kai murmured, thinking. But no matter how hard he predicted, and even though he knew and had finished this "game"... he only knew, he wasn't God.
I've closed one route for Ren... with my relationship with Risa improving... I think Risa's route is already meet the dead end for Ren.
Closing his eyes, Kai rested. He didn't know what would happen in the future or a few months later when the true protagonist of this world arrived.
But one thing was for sure... he had no plans to die a second time without having a girlfriend.